Koziol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,771, issued Jan. 26, 1971) shows a pedestal-mounted gas grill base with a domed cover. The interior of the base is formed with ledges 36 for supporting the grill rods at any of several heights. In this instance, the base is said to be made of aluminum and the rods 31, 32 are integrated into two unitary grids. The burner structure is not depicted.
Goss (U.S. Pat. No. 2,641,243, issued June 9, 1953) and Harff et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,736, issued July 1, 1969) illustrate grills with two levels of support bars, a lower level for the heat-radiating bodies and an upper level for the food being grilled.
Roberts (U.S. Pat. No. 2,582,720, issued Jan. 15, 1952), Riedy (U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,171, issued Sept. 28, 1954), and Sazegar (3,276,440, issued Oct. 4, 1966) all illustrate housings for grills and the like made of ceramic material. In Harff et al, mentioned above, the lid 40 is made of glass. Laws, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,989, issued Nov. 12, 1968) and Howie (U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,596, issued Mar. 4, 1975) illustrate that it is known to make electric cookers out of pyroceram, e.g. "Corningware".
Current gas barbeques usually are manufactured of stamped steel, cast aluminum or cast iron. Stamped steel rusts very rapidly in actual use. Cast aluminum is very expensive and the aluminum "bleeds" through the exterior paint with exposure to weather which ruins the appearance of the unit. Cast iron also rusts, costs a great deal and is very expensive to ship. The major interior parts of a conventional grill consist of a burner made of cast iron, sheet metal or sheet stainless steel and two wire grids. One grid supports a layer of ceramic briquettes and the other is used as a cooking surface. Due to extremely high temperatures, corrosive cooking spices and frequent exposure to weather, all of these items require periodic replacement. This represents a substantial cost to the buyer.